NASCAR rail: Best Buy 400 at a glance

A look at the action at Dover and a glance back at last week's action.

Dan Beaver

WHERE: Dover International Speedway, Dover, Del.

WHEN: TV start 1:30 p.m. ET

BROADCAST: Fox, live on Sirius satellite radio, channel 128

THE LOWDOWN: Putting aside for the moment that "Miles" has to be the dumbest name for an ogre in the history of naming monsters, this track has the nickname of the "Monster Mile" for good reason. Lap after lap, drivers hit their marks and fall into a peaceful dreamlike state, when suddenly their quietude is interrupted by a nightmare. The groove is narrow at Dover, and track-blocking "Big One" crashes are not uncommon. For some drivers, Sunday will be a bad dream, and the sleepless nights start midweek.

Déjà vu. If the closing laps of last week's race looked somehow familiar, scan back on your DVR to the All-Star race. Kasey Kahne edged Greg Biffle at the line, but this time it was not a runaway affair. In the closing laps, there was danger and intrigue as Tony Stewart cut a tire while leading and Jeff Gordon tried to steal the win with a fuel mileage run — just as his teammate Casey Mears successfully did last year. Kahne's victory snapped a 54-race losing streak, during which he managed to earn only two top-fives, and he put Gillette-Evernham Motorsports back on a winning path.

1. Kyle Busch
Career average finish at Dover: 11.8 in six starts

Fans who are getting tired of all the press Busch is receiving will have to wait for another week for a break. At Dover, he finished in the runner-up spot in both races his rookie season and has two more top-fives since.

2. Jeff Burton
Career average finish at Dover: 7.8 in six starts

Burton's career at Dover looks pretty much like his most recent 18 races: There are flashes of brilliance like his fall 2006 victory and overwhelming consistency with one finish worse than 14th in the last six years.

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Career average finish at Dover: 18.2 in six starts

It's becoming an all-too-familiar scenario: Last week, it looked like Junior was finally going to get his first victory for Hendrick Motorsports until he drifted up the track, skidded in the marbles and slapped the wall.

4. Denny Hamlin
Career average finish at Dover: 15.5 in four starts

As strong as he's been on most tracks, the concrete high-banked courses of Dover and Bristol have not been kind. He has only one top-five in nine starts on this track type.

5. Clint Bowyer
Career average finish at Dover: 11.3 in four starts

Bowyer has been consistent but not particularly strong at Dover. In four previous starts there, he has no top-fives, but two top-10s and a worst of 17th. That will keep him comfortably in the points, however.

6. Carl Edwards
Career average finish at Dover: 7.7 in six starts

After finishing third in this race last year and winning at Bristol and Dover in the fall, the media started calling him "Concrete Carl." Sometimes a name says it all.

7. Kevin Harvick
Career average finish at Dover: 19.8 in six starts

In 2006, Harvick backed up a second at Bristol with a third on the big sister track of Dover. Last year, he finished fourth at Bristol and was 20th at Dover, so his second in the Food City 500 may not be a good omen.

8. Tony Stewart
Career average finish at Dover: 23.3 in six starts

For a while it appeared Stewart could do no wrong at Dover, and he finished sixth or better in five straight races from 2002 through 2004. Unfortunately, his ninth last fall was his first top-10 since then.

9. Jimmie Johnson
Career average finish at Dover: 8.8 in six starts

After struggling in the first two "cookie-cutter" races this season, Johnson finally had the setup figured out at Texas and Lowe's until a motor exploded in sight of the checkers for the Coke 600.

10. Jeff Gordon
Career average finish at Dover: 18.5 in six starts

For most of the night in the Coke 600, Gordon was on the cusp of falling out of the top 12 in points, until a fuel mileage gamble produced a fourth-place result. Last year, he was ninth and 11th in two Dover starts.

11. Greg Biffle
Career average finish at Dover: 5.8 in six starts

Biffle has the best three-year average finish of all active drivers at Dover. That will happen when your worst result is only 13th and every other finish is a top-10. Oh yeah: And he won in spring 2005.

12. Kasey Kahne
Career average finish at Dover: 23.2 in six starts

There are still 14 races remaining, but history suggests that nearly all of the Chase contenders leaving this race will be the ultimate playoff drivers. That makes this a great time for Kahne to find his mojo.